There is a need to provide a low profile quick connect nipple to a fluid access port for a fluid reservoir when the surrounding area of the reservoir is space limited. This is particularly true for the oil pan of a vehicle and its associated drain plug. To remove the contaminated oil from a vehicle, the drain plug generally located in the lowermost region of the oil pan is removed. Spent oil containing suspended particles is permitted to flow under gravity out of the pan into a suitable receptacle. After the spent oil is removed, the plug is replaced and fresh oil is added to the engine usually through a separate opening in the engine valve cover. The oil change process is essentially the same whether performed at home, at service stations or at one of the various oil change centers which have opened in recent years. It is therefore desirable to provide an oil pan adapter device which would eliminate the need for repeated removal and insertion of the drain plug with each oil change operation and that is suitably configured to permit automatic sealing between oil change operations.
The current style of quick connect nipples usable for oil pans has a projection of several inches below the oil pan. The exposure makes the nipple vulnerable to damage as a result of being hit by road debris and/or low clearance between the oil pan and the road surface. The projection provides for significant leverage, which could aggravate the amount of damage to the nipple, including tearing the nipple from the oil pan.
In cases where the oil pan thread is small, a special adapter is used in conjunction with the quick connect nipple, which increases the projection of the nipple by as much as one-quarter inch. The adapter is necessary because the internal parts of the conventional quick connect are installed from the back requiring a minimum opening which is larger than some thread sizes. It is therefore desirable to provide a low profile nipple which allows adequate clearance between the nipple and the roadway. It is further desirable to provide a nipple design that is suitable for large thread sizes as well as the smallest thread size. It is also desirable to provide a nipple design where the internal parts of the nipple are installed from the front of the nipple to allow the thread size to be as small as necessary without the need for a special adapter.